Click photo to enlarge
Redwood Times

Making an exclusive North Coast appearance at the Mateel Community Center in Redway this Monday, June 23, will be Seun Kuti & Fela’s Egypt 80. Youngest son of Fela Kuti, the father of Afrobeat music and one of Africa’s great musical innovators, this will be Seun Kuti’s highly anticipated debut tour of the United States. Accompanied by the original members of his father’s classic band, Egypt 80, who’ll be returning to the U.S. for the first time since Fela’s passing more than 10 years ago, this is a show not to be missed, with 18 costumed musicians and dancers on stage for a one-of-a-kind concert experience.

Rooted in the same funky, percussive, and horn driven sound characterized by Fela’s Afrobeat, Seun’s music represents the next generation of this great legacy with reflections on current political and social injustices and more modern musical influences mixed in. Like his father, Seun is a skilled pianist and sax player who boasts a booming voice and larger-than-life stage presence. Egypt 80 completes the package with a collection of Nigeria’s top musicians and dancers, including five percussionists, six horn players, three guitarists, three backing

Advertisement
vocalists/dancers, and more. Together, they comprise the enormous Afrobeat spectacle of Seun Kuti & Fela’s Egypt 80 and are sure to bring down the house at Mateel, the only stop on their North Americans tour that is not in a major city.

Additionally, this will be a special performance because it will be the first show on MCC’s new Gamble EX-56 mixing console. Arguably the best mixing console ever made, this handcrafted gem is one of only 106 ever produced and will now permanently reside in the Mateel Community Center, giving justification to again fire up the house mains and eventually serving as the first step in a full revamp of the in-house sound system.

Come witness it all for yourself this Monday, June 23. Doors open at 8 p.m. and music starts at 9 p.m. A variety of snacks, desserts, refreshments, and beer/wine will also be available. Tickets are on sale at the usual local outlets and online at www.inticketing.com for a price of $28 MCC members, $32 advance, and $35 at the door. For more info call 923-3368 or visit www.mateel.org and don’t miss Seun Kuti and Fela’s Egypt 80 at the one and only Mateel Community Center this Monday.